Prince
by Treehugger1427
Summary: One hot and sunny summer day the Knight Bus crashed. Only two underage witches survived, Annette and Arianna. The orphaned witches were put in the care of their last relative, Severus Snape. Who has no idea what to with a teenager and a young child. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you may recognize.**

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Annette's eyes fluttered open. Her half awake gaze met the pale green walls of the small room she currently resided in. She shifted in the scratchy sheets that loosely covered her body. Annette slowly scanned the room and concluded, from the small stack of potions residing on the table next to her and the lack of windows in the tiny room, that she was either being held captive by a very caring captor or that she was in Saint Mungos. As she thought about it, being held captive and being a patient in Saint Mungos is pretty much the same thing.

Annette heard footsteps outside of her room and stop at the door. After three light knocks on the door, a small child-like woman in green healer's robes and a huge red head man entered the tiny room.

"Good to see you're awake dear. I'm Healer Robinson," the healer chirped brightly as she headed over to the small table of potions. " It will be much easier to give you this now," the small woman turned to face Annette with a cup of potion in each hand. "This one will help with the pain," the healer spoke as she handed over the bubbling brown potion in her left hand. Annette grimaced and down the potion in one large gulp. "This one will stop you from getting dizzy when you decide to stand."

"Stand? I get to leave?" Annette inquired confused.

"Of course it will be a bit before you can leave, but it will be today. Your injuries were fairly minor. Your covered in a fair amount of cuts and those will heal fine on their own. You had a few broken ribs and a minor concussion, but we fixed you right up. You might be a little dizzy from the hit you took to your head but that will be over by tomorrow."

Annette grinned ear to ear at the thought of not having to stay the night here. She happily drank her last potion before the healer left Annette alone to talk to the red headed man.

" 'Ello Miss. Prince. My name is Colin Medlock and I'm an Auror. I work with the Ministry. I need to ask you a few questions. Okay?" The red head man that entered the room addressed her in a cautious tone, like he was afraid that she was either going to start bawling her eyes out or she was going to rip his head off. She just rolled her eyes and began to gather her up to secure it on to the top of her head.

"Ask away," she responded.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened this afternoon? From beginning to end?"

"I sure can."

After sever moments of silence Colin spoke again, "So what happened?"

"Oh, you actually want me to tell you," Annette smirked as the man groaned.

"Yes."

"Well my parents, Aiden and Rachel Prince, were dragging my sister, Arianna, and I to my father's cousin's house. My parents force us to visit him every summer for at least a week at a time. He's doesn't like kids very much but he's the only relative we have left," Annette paused making sure that Colin was listening.

"What's your father's cousin's name ?" Colin questioned with his quill poised over the small book of parchment he extracted from his robe pocket.

"Severus Snape," Annette answered before continuing. " We have to take the knight bus because my mother splinches herself every time she tries to apparate and Ari is terrified of flooing…" As Annette spoke she could feel herself falling back into the moment she was speaking about.

_Annette Prince rolled her eyes in the boiling hot heat. She dropped her backpack and settled herself on the grass in front of her family's modest home. Annette watched her sister chase after a butterfly while her father ran back inside to check that they indeed had everything the family needed for their short holiday. Her mother stood at the curb tapping her designer shoe covered foot and examining her overly manicured nails. _

"_I knew I forgot something!" Annette's father, Aiden, shouted as he ran out of the house branching his wand forward. "Couldn't have left home with out this," he declared with a smile on his face, proud that he did not leave his wand at home, again._

"_Good, let's go," Annette's mother, Rachel, spoke sharply as she picked up her brief case and a small suitcase. Aiden meet his wife at the curb with a similar brief case in hand. Annette snatched her bag off the grass next to her and took hold of her sister's hand. _

_Mrs. Prince called for the knight bus with a lazy branching out of her arm. The purple triple-decker bus came whizzing around the corner seconds later. Once the small family had boarded the bus they began the long journey to Spinner's End. _

_Annette stared out the grungy window of the bus while she held on with all her might to the seat in front of her while the bus swerved viciously around the streets of England. Annette sat in the silence that loomed over the bus. The bus was empty of passengers except for the Prince family. Annette watched all of the muggles on the street pass by in a blur, completely unaware of the magic that was passing them. _

_Her eye caught onto a man dressed too warmly for the current blistering heat ravaging through out the country this summer. The man sat on a bench that the bus was approached rapidly. In his lap sat an untouched newspaper that laid dormant in the nonexistent breeze. The man had long black robes with the hood pulled down low. The hooded figure stood, stuck out his arm and in a flash the knight bus went tumbling forward, bringing its passengers with it._

_Annette held on tighter as she felt her body being lurched forward with the bus. Everyone on the bus screamed as it fell forward. It landed on the windshield where its teetered for a moment before landing on the roof. Sounds of cracking glass reached Annette's ears. Her heart stampeded in her chest as she dangled upside-down in the Knight bus. Her breath hitched in her throat as the grip she had on the seat began to slip. Panic surged through her as the thought of falling onto what once was the ceiling found its way into Annette's head. She tried desperately to hang on but the sweat on her hands caused her hands to slide. Annette slammed her eyes shut. The wind was knocked out of her as her body impacted with what was once the ceiling. _

_Annette grunted in pain. She moved slowly and carefully to a sitting position. Shifting to her hands and knees she began to crawl over to the door. Annette winced as glass from shattered lanterns ground into her pale knees and palms. _

_She attempted to push the door open . The door remained an immobile force between her and the outside world. Annette leaned back and kicked the door with all the force she could muster, and once again the door remained still. The girl gave up on the door and crawled her way over to the nearest window. The window shattered with one fierce kick to the glass. Sharp chunks of glass scraped at her body as she shimmied her way out of the broken window. _

"….and that's all I remember happening. The Aurors showed up soon after I got myself out of the bus," Annette finished. "Now can I go?"

"I don't think so. The healers have to give you a couple tests to make sure you're okay to leave. I'll let them know you're waiting," the Auror replied." I have one more question to ask you before I go," the girl across the table nodded, "Do you know if there is anyone who would want to do your parents harm?"

"None that I know of."

Colin nodded and shuffled his was out of the room. Annette tenderly lowered herself back to a horizontal position. She stared at the small tan clock that resided above the door while thoughts of where her family was drifted into her mind.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Review please. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter Universe.**

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"Ann-ann !"

Annette's head popped up from the year-old Witch Weekly she snatched out of the waiting room. A colossal smile spread across her face as a small child ran through the door.

"Ari !" Annette greeted happily as her little sister flung herself onto Annette's lap. "I was wondering where you were," spoke Annette as she hugged her sister.

Ari scrambled off of her sister and scooted to the end of the bed. Her shiny jet black curls bounced joyously as she fidgeted around with the hem of her crisp white dress. Arianna wiggled her toes around, the soles of her feet blackened from the abandonment of her shoes long ago.

"Where's Mummy and Daddy? No one would let me see them," Ari whined.

"I don't know. No one would tell me anything about them," Arianna's black eyes gazed up confusedly at her sister.

Abruptly a large figure in black robes came running into the minute room. The figure bent over, resting large pale hands on his knees, and panted heavily several times.

"Ari-" he spoke between pants, "you- run - too- fast." The figure straightened to his full height. Ari looked down sheepishly.

"Severus, what are you doing here?" Annette questioned her cousin.

"Well," Severus paused and sat in a chair to Annette's left. "St. Mungos called me here after you were admitted."

"Wait. What? Was I the only one admitted?"

"Yes."

"How? They said the Knight Bus was destroyed," Annette added confused.

"It is."

"So how can I be the only one hurt?"

"I was told that Arianna most likely did some accidental magic that got herself off the bus before it flipped."

"What about Dad? Mum? The driver? Stan?" Severus looked away as Annette spoke with panic rising in her voice. "Are they-? They can't be-"Annette struggled to speak as her bright blue eyes began to fill with tears.

"You two were the only survivors," Severus spoke in a soft blunt tone. He rose as Annette let out a wail. He squeezed himself onto the edge of the bed. He awkwardly put an arm around each child.

"What are you saying Sevvy?" Ari asked.

"Your mother and father didn't survive. They're not coming back," Severus explained. Ari's face contorted before bursting out in loud wailing sobs. Ari crawled onto Severus' lap and buried her face into his neck.

The last descendents of the pureblood Prince family sat on that one single bed for a large unknown amount of time. The youngest sat in the lap of the oldest, crying loudly with her arms attached to the eldest's neck. The middle Prince sat slightly off to the side. Her head hung with her long dark hair creating a curtain around her face so no one could see the steady flow to tears falling from her eyes. The oldest and only male, sat still, staring off into the distance. He named off every potion he knew in alphabetical order to prevent the tears that were forming in his eyes from falling.

The door creaked open and with a small knock to announce her presence, Healer Robinson crept her way into the room. Severus shifted his gaze to the healer.

"You told them. Better from family than a stranger," Healer Robinson stated somberly. Severus kept quiet, unsure of what to say for the first time in a very long time. "You can take them home now."

Severus nodded to the healer and she swiftly exited the room. Severus shifted Ari awkwardly to his side. He wrapped his large arm around the small child, who was slightly too big to be carried comfortably. He shifted himself around on the bed in till he was able to stand with the weeping child held to his chest. Severus solemnly glanced down to Annette. Her figure unmoving except for the slight shaking of her shoulders.

"We're leaving," Severus stated.

Annette's head popped up at the voice of her cousin. Without a word, she robotically stood and followed Severus. The trio journeyed silently to Snape's house in Spinner's End.

Severus led the girls into his and now their home in Spinner's End. He plopped Arianna onto the hard wood floor and turned to shut the door behind him. The Prince sisters stood silently side-by-side in the entry way. Neither of them followed Severus as he trudged his way into the house.

After several extensive moments paused at the very edge of the home, the sisters wandered aimlessly further inside. Ari ventured into Severus' vast library. There she snatched the first book she could reach, pulled it onto the worn carpet, and began looking though the grotesque drawings of the side-effects of different potions. Annette strolled though the dim, dusty living room and over to the unlit fireplace.

Upon the mantel was the three sole pictures inside Severus' home. The frames were spread evenly across the mahogany mantle. Annette gently picked up the frame to the far right of the mantle. The tarnished silver frame held a muggle photograph depicting three grim looking people. One young Severus stood rigid and timid between a large grizzly man and a woman who Severus remarkably resembled.

Annette gently replaced the photo to its rightful home. Out of habit, she reached over the middle picture and grabbed the frame to its left. Annette looked lovingly down at the snowy scene inside of the simple wooden frame.

The picture showed a ten year old Annette dancing joyously around a misshapen snowman. The snowman was created to resemble the one and only Severus Snape. It had two black rocks for eyes, a crooked carrot nose, and black ink that Annette stole from her father poured onto its head for hair. Discreetly in the background stood a very pregnant Rachel Prince. Her body shook with laughter as she wrapped her armed around her protruding stomach.

The sixteen year old Annette flipped the frame over to read the inscribed note:

_Severus,_

_Since you couldn't join us this Christmas, Annette decided on the next best thing. Your snowman look-alike. We miss you._

_Happy Christmas, _

_Adian, Rachel, Annette, and the-soon-to-be-born Arianna_

Annette replaced the picture and moved onto the only picture in which she didn't know everyone inside of it. She watched as a gawky thirteen year old Severus sat under a tree with his nose buried in an enormous book. His head darted up as a red head girl in a school uniform runs into the picture. She doesn't stop running in till she tackled Severus over. Seconds later the two sat up laughing and then the picture restarted.

Annette smiled solemnly at the sheer joy radiating from the two teenagers inside of the crisp black frame.

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**A/N: Review please. I'd really like to know if you like how the story is going and how you would like it to go. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe**

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The grandfather clock chimed six as the sun began to rise. Severus' eyes fluttered open as the persistent knocking on the door didn't cease. He trudged to the front door and sneered at the tall blonde man standing in the door frame.

"I need to speak with you," Lucius Malfoy snapped as he pushed his way into Severus' home. Severus closed the door and lead the blonde man into his study.

Two hours later as the clock chimed eight one Arianna Prince crawled out of her cot. The dim morning light shown through the dusty window panes of the window on the far side of the long bedroom the sister's shared. Ari rubbed her sleepy black eyes, shuffled over to the other side of the room where she poked her sister's sleeping face.

"Go away," Annette mumbled at the annoyance poking at her milky cheek. Despite Annette's request for the annoyance to go away it continue until she spoke once more, "What in the world do you want?"

"I'm hungry," Ari mumbled.

"Fine." Annette slid out of bed and padded over to the kitchen with her sister in tow.

They searched the kitchen for something to eat but the search came up dry. "Looks like Sev needs to go shopping."

The sisters wandered through the living room and over the dark mahogany door next to the fireplace. Hushed frantic whispering reached their ears. Annette nervously rapped her knuckles on the door. The whispering stopped suddenly and Ari opened the door. The two men in the whipped their heads to see the sisters standing in the doorway. The tall blonde man looked down at the girls with a confused look splattered across his face.

"What," Severus snapped at his cousins. Ari flinched at the intensity of his voice and took a step behind her sister to hide behind the purple striped of Annette pajama pants.

"You have no food," Annette replied.

"Oh," he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small bag of galleons. "The floo will take you to the nearest wizarding grocery store." He handed the bag to Annette, ushered the girls out of the room, and abruptly shut the door behind the sisters.

"I guess we're going shopping," Annette sighed. She led her little sister to the fire. After a pinch of floo powder and a shout the sisters were on their way to the grocery store.

They stepped out of the fireplace entry of Ester's Magical Grocery. Annette grabbed the wooden basket next to the entry. The sleepy checkout girl mumbled a garbled greeting as they passed by. More and more people crowded the store as the girls rounded around the aisles.

"Can we get ice cream ?"Arianna asked as she ran to the freezer full of said ice cream. She hopped up and down in place with her eyes wide as she took in the wide range of colored tubs.

"Definitely," Annette smiled as her sister squealed in glee. Ari reached for the last rainbow tub of Drooble's Ever Changing Ice Cream when a boy about her own age snatched it out of Ari's grasp. She screeched in protest as the boy started to walk away.

"Get back here!" Ari screamed at the boy's back as she ran for him. "I had that first!" Annette rolled her eyes and jogged after her sister as she rounded the corner.

The two children stood in the middle of the cereal aisle. The ice cream lay casted off down the aisle. The boy and girl faced each other with their faces turning red from trying to out shout each other.

Just as Annette began to creep down the cold stone floor, a puff of gray smoke appeared around Ari's head. The smoke disappeared to reveal giant elephant ears in the place of Arianna's originals. Ari screamed louder at the boy until he transformed into a rock in a puff of pink smoke.

"Jackson !" a plump middle-aged woman shouted as she ran down the aisle to her now rock son. She gave Annette and Arianna a death glare as she scooped up her son and ran off.

The giant elephant ears slapped against Arianna's cheeks as she whipped her head around to face her sister. Her face contorted and twisted before breaking out on panicked sobs. "Get them off," she sobbed. "I don't know how," Annette replied solemnly."Get them off me!" Ari screamed. Her screeches only got louder as she clawed at the giant ears, trying in vain to yank them off of the side of her head. Annette slapped her sisters hands away and picked the sobbing child up. The duo rushed over to the fire. With a shout and the lick of the green flames they were on the way to Saint in the Snape household...Severus shut the door behind his blonde visitor. He sighed deeply as he strode over to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He opened cabinet after cabinet, drawer after drawer before he realized that he indeed had no food in his house. His thoughts wandered over to his younger cousins. Severus had sent them to the store over two hours ago. He wondered what in the world could be taking the girls so long.

Severus was heading over to the fireplace to floo to the store himself when Annette's head popped up in the flames.

"Sev!" she yelped at the sudden appearance of Severus.

" Why aren't you back yet?" he questioned the teen.

"We're at Saint Mungos, Ari had a bit of an accidental magic accident."

"I'll be right there," Severus stepped into the fire once Annette's head had disappeared.

Severus had once again found himself running dashing through the halls of Saint Mungos. He shoved past waiting crowds and healer and strode up to the fourth floor, the spell damage ward.

Annette leaned against the door frame of the room her sister resided in. She covered her ears with her hands, trying in vain to block out her sisters screams. A look of relief washed across her face as she watched Severus stride down the hall with his back cloak bellowing out behind him.

"She's gone batty," Annette shouted over her sisters screeches. "She got into a fight with a kid at the store and he gave her elephant ears, then she turned him into a rock." Severus sunk a peek into the room as Annette continued. "Now she won't let the healers get anywhere near her. They can't even get a silencing charm on her."

Annette watched as Severus entered the room. He crouched at the base of the bed and ducked his head under. Arianna ceased her screams when she saw her cousin's face. She lowered the metal potion tray just enough to look Severus in the eye.

"Come here," he spoke softly to the child. He beckoned her over with a wave of his hand. Arianna put down the shiny metal potion tray, and scurried over to him. She wrapped her pale arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "You don't need to be afraid. The healers are just going to fix your ears."

Severus scooped the frighten child up. He let go of her to place her on the examination table, only to find that Ari had attached herself to his neck.

"Don't go," she mumbled softly. Severus sighed, scooped her back up and sat down on the table himself with her nestled into his lap.

At Arianna's unmoving silence the went to work to restore her back to normal.

Annette turned from the door. She solemnly walked away as the healers restored her sibling. It wasn't long before a small woman shuffled out of her room and grabbed Annette by her shoulder.

Annette looked up from her feet to the woman. She had a round face, large unfocused eyes, and long wispy grey hair. The woman looked into Annette's eyes, reached into the pocket of her nightgown and handed her a Drooble's gum wrapper. Annette looked down at the wrapper in her hand , confused and perplexed.

"Mum!" a young boy resembling the woman shouted. The woman didn't look at the boy. She just turned and shuffled back into her room. "Sorry about that, she isn't supposed to leave her room." the boy addressed Annette. The boy shuffled at his feet under her gaze. He turned to go into his mother's room.

"Wait," Annette reached out to stop the boy. "I'm a bit lost. How do I get back to Spell Damage?"

"It's just down the hall," he answered.

"Really?"

"I'll take you," he stammered. Annette smiled at the shy boy as he led her down the hall.

They reached her sister's room and Annette paused before going back in.

"Thank you," Annette reached out and hugged the shy boy. She walked back into the room, leaving the boy stunned. She smiled at the sight of her sister curled up sleeping in Severus' lap before suggesting that they go back home.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry about the extremely long wait on an update. But I'm back for now. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! I hope I didn't lose too many readers from the wait.**

**Disclaimer: As alway I do not own the Harry Potter World. **

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"_I cannot let you out again. You're out of the house for an hour and your sister ends up in Saint Mungos. You need to learn to act more responsibly. Ari needs you to care for her," _Severus' words ran through Annette's mind as she paced the floor of her bedroom. She gritted her teeth and ran her hand though her thick black locks.

"HE is supposed to be her guardian," Annette mumbled quietly to herself, trying not to wake her sister. It has been three months since the Knight Bus accident. The summer was winding down and Annette was sick of having to constantly care for her little sister. Severus went about his daily business as if the two sisters were never there. It didn't seem to hit him that his cousins were not going away anytime soon.

Annette's skin crawled and itched to get out of this dark home. She halted her pacing and marched over to her wardrobe. She had decided it was time for her to have some fun and blow off some steam. It wasn't her job to parent her sister. It was her job to be a teenager. With a delightful tug, Annette pulled her favorite muggle dress out of its place in the wardrobe. She held the short, tight, shimmery number in her had with a joyous smile on her face.

Fifteen minutes later, she was dressed and tip toeing her was through the sleeping house with her heels in her hand. For the past year her and couple of her friends, that were also homeschooled, would sneak out a couple times a month to go clubbing in muggle London. Muggle London has always been a forbidden place for the Prince family, they being too prideful purebloods to mix with like filthy muggles. So her love for the muggle side of London was always a deep secret that she kept with her best mates and herself.

Annette silently shut the front door behind her and called for the night bus. She let out a sigh of relief she slipped on her strappy shoes in the warm summer night air. With a slight tremor in her steps, she stepped on to the repaired Knight Bus, her need to let loose greater than her fear of the bus itself.

_Three and a half hours later…._

Severus woke to relieve his bladder. Upon his sleepy journey back to his room he peeked inside the girls' room. Ari slept peacefully curled into a ball with her arms clutched around a stuffed dragon. His gaze drifted to the other side of the room, expecting to find an equally peaceful Annette. But, his expectations were not met. Severus, confused, rubbed the last bits of sleep form his eyes to only confirm that one Prince sister was not in her bed.

Anger bubbled up in Severus only to have it squashed by an emotion he was less familiar with, worry. He took in the open wardrobe and the forgotten pajamas on the floor. His mind drifted back to the open bottles of make-up that were not there when he went to bed. Now Severus was a smart man, so it not take him long to figure out where the missing sister had gone.

Unaware of how to react to a teenager that has snuck out, he did one of the only things that came naturally to him. He went to brew some potions while he waited up for Annette to return.

Luckily for him it was not long before the one-and-only Annette Prince came tip toeing back in. Severus continued to slice his bat wings to stop himself from binding the girl to her bed for the rest of her life.

Meanwhile Annette strolled through the living room, thinking that she had gotten away with her misdoings. On the way back to her room to get some much needed rest a picture on the mantle caught her eye. She picked up the frame of young Severus and the redhead.

"Annette," Severus called firmly form his potions room. Annette jumped in her spot. Her calm demeanor was quickly replaced with panic. With the frame in hand she shuffled her way towards his voice.

"Yes Sevvy?" Annette answered sheepishly from the doorway of the potions room.

"Where were your? And don't even try to lie to me, I am no stranger to using Versatrium."

"'tletmeout,soIsunkouttogodancing," Annette spat out in reply while staring down at the picture in her hands. Severus looked at the newly orphaned girl and the sadness in her eyes. Grief and pity struck Severus hard at that moment.

"You're grounded for a week, no owl use, no floo use, give me your wand, and absolutely no going out," Severus restrained his instinct to yell at the poor girl.

"No way. You not letting me go anywhere is what led me to go behind your back! I know what happened at the grocery store was bad but it's not my fault that Ari can't control her magic yet! It is not my job to be her mother either! I'm hurting here too Severus. I cannot do what you're supposed to do," Annette snapped at the man before sliding to the floor in tears. Severus felt the odd and painful sensation of his heartbreaking for his only family left. He put down his knife as she continued, "I know that you never liked children and you probably have no idea on how to take care of us. But I need you to at least try Severus."

Severus walked around the table separating them and sat next to the crying girl. "I'll try, okay?" He spoke softly as he awkwardly wrapped Annette in a hug. "But you're still grounded for a week. I need you to listen to me." Annette nodded against his shoulder. "Now did I tell you that we're to be at Hogwarts in one week?"

"Hogwarts?" Annette sniffled and looked up at Severus.

"You're going to finish your schooling there." A smile broke out on her tear-streaked face at Severus' statement.

"Speaking of Hogwarts, I've always wondered if this was you at Hogwarts," She questioned with a gesture to the picture still in her grasp.

"You shouldn't touch what isn't yours," Severus snapped back. Severus quickly back tracked at the treat of tears from Annette. "Yes it is."

"Whose the girl in the picture?"

"She is…was…an old friend," Severus replied stiffly. "It is unsavory to ask someone to speak of the past. Now go get some sleep. We're going to go to Diagon Alley for your school supplies later today. "

Annette scurried off to do as she was told. Her interest peaked in wonder about this mysterious girl as she went back to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on Ron!" Hermione shouted at said boy. "We need to get going." She walked backwards while yelling ahead of her two best friends.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Ron mumbled while jogging to catch up with Harry and Hermione. He watched as the two ran into Fred and George who were standing perplexed in the middle of Kings Cross. The trio looked around to discover what the twins were looking at.

"Is that…?" Harry wondered out loud.

"Does Snape have children?" George asked the group as they stared at their potions professor standing in front of Platform 9 3/4 . The surly professor wore black muggle slacks and a faded white button down. He was speaking to a tall teen girl with wavy black hair and blue eyes. A small young girl sleek black hair and dark eyes in a white dress held the professor's hand while she tugged on the teen's sleeve.

"I didn't think so, I've never seen her before," Hermione replied.

"Who'd want to shag Snape anyway?" Fred quipped. The group giggled while Hermione slapped Fred's shoulder. "We need to get to the train." Everyone nodded in agreement. They ran through the wall after Snape and the two mysterious girls.

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Annette wandered through the crowded Hogwarts Express looking for an empty compartment. However, before she encountered one a slim blonde boy opened his compartment door and yelled at her. Annette turned around to look at who shouted at her.

"What? You don't need to yell," Annette replied sternly to the boy's shout. The blonde's eyebrows shot up and he smirked at the girl. He walked over to Annette and held out his hand.

"I'm Draco Malfoy." He introduced, "You must be Annette Prince. My father's Lucius Malfoy, he is _close friends_ with Snape and was with your parents. We've never met." Annette shook the boy's hand before asking exactly how he knows who she is. "'I've never seen you before and you're definitely not a first year," Draco looked Annette up and down with a smirk on his face. "So you could only be the lovely new sixth year." His eyes settled on Annette's arse. He confidently reached out and grabbed her rear.

Annette's eyes bugged out of her head, her jaw dropped to the floor, she screeched while her fist flew at the boy's face. It landed with a crack on his pale straight nose. Draco stepped back and cried out in pain.

"You bitch!" Draco spat out with ruby red blood pouring out his nose. Annette gestured rudely at the boy before stomping away to find herself somewhere to sit.

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Arianna jumped gleefully on the emerald couch in Severus' living quarters in Hogwarts. Severus left her to explore her new room while he went to the first day of school professor meeting. She quickly grew bored of jumping on the couch and hopped off.

Ari giggled excitedly as she skipped from room to room. She skidded to a halt in front of Severus' bedroom. A smirk spread across her lightly freckled face as she slipped through the crack in the door. Ari flitted from one side of the room to the other. The six year old paused in front of her cousin's dilapidated wardrobe. With a giggle of glee she tore of the double doors and dived in to the clothing.

Severus sighed in front of the door to his quarters He stood with his shoulders hunched as he wiped a stray tear off his cheek. Waves of grief crashed over Severus as he shuffled through the door, straightened his posture, and entered his home. He glanced at the clock above the mantle. It was almost time to go to the Welcoming Feast.

CRASH! Severus' head flick over to the darkened narrow hall to his left. He drew his wand and stealthily glided down to the crashing sound. He edged his bedroom door open with the tip of his wand. Severus jumped into the room, pointing his wand at the bedroom intruder.

Ari yelped at the sight of being caught by her cousin. Severus dropped his wand arm. Ari was standing in the center of Severus' bed wearing one of Severus' robes. The fabric pooled around her ankles and the black fabric of the sleeves stretched a couple feet past her hands.

"What are you doing?" Severus questioned, his expression still as stone.

"I'm playing pretend," Ari answered cautiously. The fear of being scolded for going into his room without permission, rummaging through his things, and knocking over his coat rack bubbled through her nervously.

"Pretend?"

"Yeah!" Ari's face brightened at her cousin's calm curiosity. "I was pretending to be you."

An odd, bright, warmth spread from Severus's heart. It glided through his chest, reaching across down to his arms and legs, before settling in his eyes. It rested there for only a second before vanishing.

"You do not have permission to be in my bedroom. Leave."

Ari's eyes grew wide before stumbling her way out of the said room. She hiked up the bottom of the over-sized robe she took from her cousin and pouted her way to the minuscule room that she shared with Annette. Ari marched through the doorway and slammed the door so hard behind her that it rattled in its frame. She plopped down onto the floor, crossed her arms, and began to plan a way to get back at her cousin for yelling at her.

* * *

The Great Hall slowly grew silent as McGonagall prepared for the sorting ceremony. The trio watched as the first years, scared and wided eyed, stumbled in to the hall. The trio recognized the girl they saw with Severus standing in the crowd of first years.

"Annabelle Alcott!" McGonagall called. The sorting begun and before everyone knew it McGonagall stopped suddenly in the middle of her list. "Now we have a special student joining us today. She is not a first year. She will be joining the sixth years. Give a warm welcome to Annette Prince."

Heated whispers broke out in the crowd as Annette nervously made her way to the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head and the whispered were drowned out by the voice of the hat.

"A Prince," The hat murmured. " I haven't had a Prince in a very long time. Your parents were both in Slyterin. The Prince family has a very long line of being in the house of Salazar." The house paused and thought for a moment. "You would do well in Slyterin. But better in…." The hat suddenly shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think :) All reviews are appreciated. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ok I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Hope you'll forgive me and I also hope I didn't lose too many of you this time**

**Disclaimer: As always I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe**

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Annette followed the rest of her Gryffindor house up to their tower. She wandered behind the group, letting her gaze fall to each of the portraits as she day dreamed. Never in her sixteen years of life had she actually attended a proper school. As each of her parents did not believe that she should be schooled with "mudblood filth." About halfway to the tower Annette was jerked out of her reverie by two people linking arms with her. Annette jumped in her skin at the sudden contact. She quickly looked over to each of the boys to her sides and did a double take. Two identical faces smiled back at her.

"Who are you?" she questioned softly.

"Fred Weasley," he piped from the right.

"George Wealey," George answered from the left. "So, Annette…may I call you Annette?" He continued without letting her answer, "Why haven't you been to Hogwarts before?"

"My parents didn't want me to go. So they got me tutors," Annette replied as they strolled up the staircases arm in arm.

"Why not?"

"Why come now?" Fred questioned after George.

"They didn't want me to go to school with muggleborns. But I'm not like that. They died over the summer, so now I get to go here," tear threatened to overflow from her eyes as she answered.

"Sorry about your parents," The twins replied in unison. They halted outside of the Fat Lady.

"Thanks…." Annette replied as George said the password. They entered the common room and it fell silent. All eyes turned to look at Annette. Annette fought the urge to hide in the corner. She pushed back her shoulders and looked defiantly at everyone.

"Hermione!" Fred shouted at the bushy haired girl reading in an arm chair by the fire. Her head popped up at the sound of her name. "Oh friend of little Ronnikins, will you show our friend Nette here her dorm?" Hermione put down her book and strode across the plush red carpet to Annette and the twins.

"Nice to meet you," Hermione shook Annette hand. "Hope these two didn't give you too much trouble."

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Annette asked the friendly girl.

"A new student at Hogwarts, that is not a first year, is a once in a goblin's life occurrence. They're wondering who you are," Hermione smiled sweetly "And, everyone heard that you were at the platform with Professor Snape."

"Oh, I didn't think that would be that big of a deal," Annette mumbled in reply. "Sev's just my cousin."

* * *

Arianna sat crossed legged on the floor in front of the house elf that brought her dinner. She crossed her arms and pouted her lips in a humph. She glanced around the elf to the door he was blocking.

"Dinkle sorry Miss," the elf spoke with a tremble in his voice, "but Master Snape said you were not to leave when he not here." The small girl glared at the elf.

"But when's Sevvy coming back!" Ari cried. "I want to find him! Where is he ?" Arianna's dark eyes swelled with tears. Her bottom lip trembled as the tears threatened to escape her wide eyes. An overwhelming since of fear suddenly surrounded the small girl. She was alone and didn't like it one bit. Ari wondered if Sevvy was ever going to come back or was he going to leave her like her parents did. The little girl could no longer fight it, the tears spilled over with a whaling cry. She fell over and began to kick and scream.

"Why is Miss crying?" the house elf peeped, his hands trembling. "Don't cry Miss. " Arianna continued to kick and scream. "Dinkle go find Master for Miss." The elf left in a loud snap. Arianna looked up from her crying to find herself completely alone. She wanted to go with Dinkle. Ari sniffled and pushed herself up. In a few quick strides Arianna Prince was out the door in search of her cousin.

"Maybe Annette can help me find Sevvy?" the girl wondered to herself as she tried to make her way out of the Dungeons.

"Bloody hell," Severus yelped as he almost tripped over one house elf called Dinkle. He straightened his robs and sneered at the elf. "Why are you out of my chambers? I told you to watch Arianna."

"Miss is crying," Dinkle replied with fidgety hands. "Dinkle couldn't get Miss to stop. Miss wants you Master." Severus shooed the elf away and quickened his pace to the Dungeons.

Snape quickly arrived to his chambers. He furrowed his brow at the silence that greeted him. According to the elf Arianna was throwing a fit. He called out for the child. A sickening pang hit his gut when his only response was more silence. He tore through his small chambers looking for the girl. A few minutes later he stood in the middle of his chambers, waves of panic surging through him. It was their first day at Hogwarts this year and he already lost one of his kids. Without another thought Severus ran out the door and into the castle.

Arianna started to grow tired of walking. She had already opened every door she could find, only to discover empty classroom after classroom. After what seemed like an eternity of climbing these moving stairs she stumbled upon, the girl sank to the floor. Her lip began to tremble once more just before she let out another whaling cry.

"I'll never find Sevvy or Nette!" The girl let herself cry harder than she ever had before. Her wales echoed in the empty stone halls of Hogwarts.

"Now girl stop that screaming," Ari jumped up and yelped at the voice. She turned to find the portrait of the Fat Lady looking down at her. Ari quickly whipped the tears away. She stared wide-eyed at the large woman in the painting. "There is no reason for you to scream like that." The portrait scolded the little girl. Just as the woman in the portrait was about to speak again the portrait swung open. Two students came out of the portrait, revealing the Gryffindor common room. They stepped right past Ari as she scurried into the new found room.

Severus ran through the castle like a mad man in search of Ari. His heart raced in his chest and his hands shook as he gripped the banister while he climbed the stairs. Severus was about to admit something to himself that he rarely, if ever, did. He needed help. He needed help finding one small girl in one giant school.

For the second time in his life he found himself in front of the Gryffindor Tower with an immense desire to get in. He knew that Annette could help. She knew her sister better. She had to know where her sister liked to hide. He faced the Fat Lady as he paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"Password," the portrait droned.

"Stupid bloody portrait. I don't have one, I'm the Head of Slytherin," Snape glared at the Fat Lady. "Let me in I need to speak to Annette Prince. I need to find her sister." Snape sneered at the portrait.

"Are you looking for a noisy little girl? One was screaming out here before, then she slipped right in,"the Fat Lady replied. "But I can't let you in without a password."

"Argh!" Severus growled and began to bang on the portrait while the Fat Lady shout in protest. After several minutes of banging the portrait swung open. One perplexed Ronald Weasley stood in the doorframe. Severus shoved past Weasley and into the common room.

For the second time that night, the room fell silent. All eyes were on Severus as he scanned the room for his cousins. Before he found what he was looking for a shouting from the fireplace caught his attention.

"Sevvy!" on excited little girl shouted as she ran out of her sister's lap and into the arms of one awaiting Sevvy. Severus scooped up Arianna and hugged her tightly. Without another word Severus turn and swooshed out of the common room with the child in his arms.

Once the portrait hole closed again George inquired loudly, "Sevvy?!" At that remark, the whole room burst into a combination of giggles and chatter.


End file.
